SiC (silicon carbide) is expected to be a material for next-generation power semiconductor devices. SiC has excellent physical properties, having a band gap three times wider than that of Si (silicon), a breakdown field strength approximately 10 times higher than that of Si, and a heat conductivity approximately three times higher than that of Si. A power semiconductor device that has low loss and is capable of high-temperature operation can be realized by taking advantage of those properties.
Meanwhile, it is difficult to lower the resistance of SiC, because the solid solubility limits of impurities are low, and levels formed with impurities in the band gap are deep. Therefore, it is difficult to lower the ON resistance of a device that uses SiC.